David Ellis is lodged in the Stephenson County Jail on $1 million bond.

“This absolutely doesn’t happen often,” said Stephenson County Assistant State’s Attorney Carl Larson. “To solve a case like this and to make sure everything is available to go to trial takes incredible effort by the detective bureau and they were able to do that in this circumstance and that is very rare.”

The cold case was reopened in 2011 at the request of Plata’s family.

“The family felt that because of advancements in technology that the evidence might be beneficial to re-examine,” Larson said.

Plata was found, with multiple stab wounds, in his home at 728 E. Stephenson St. around 3:15 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, 1987, by a police officer who had come to check on him at the request of a neighbor. An autopsy determined the murder weapon to be a “thin-bladed sharp object.”

Plata was 60 when he was killed. He was a convicted felon with a long criminal record. Plata was a Freeport fireman for a time, but he lost that job in 1968 when he was charged with burglarizing the former Butterfly Supper Club in Beloit, Wis. — a charge to which he pleaded guilty. Plata was acquitted in 1984 of a plot to kill then Stephenson County State’s Attorney Charles Hartman.

Police said at the time of Plata’s death that given his history and the types of people he associated with, an early arrest would be difficult.

Larson stressed that the allegations against Ellis are only charges at this point and he is still presumed innocent. The state’s attorney declined to discuss any additional details concerning the investigation. Ellis is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Stephenson County Courthouse. Larson said more details of the case will be available at that time.

“We’re pleased with the outcome of this case,” said Freeport Deputy Chief Jim Drehoble. “We want people to know that we do not forget about cases. We continue to work on them. Although 25 years is a long time to wait, we hope that it is an exception in these cases. We like to have them resolved quickly.”